“Do today’s job to a superior level and then you will succeed,” says Neville Isdell, the Co. Down native who rose through the ranks of Coca-Cola to become its CEO and Chairman.

With a degree in social science, it’s perhaps no surprise that Isdell’s mantra for a successful business is to focus on its people and a positive engagement.

“I enjoyed what I was doing every day,” he tells Brian Purcell on this week’s Ready Business podcast. “You are going to have bad days but there was always a positivity there for me. I was driven by my job and what I was doing.”

Leading a global brand such as Coca-Cola, SME owners and entrepreneurs can still learn a lot from the company’s success and Isdell points to the ‘specialness of the brand, being authentic in a modern way’ and most importantly, ‘understanding your customers’ as keys to its success.

Despite now being in ‘retirement’ (he describes himself as a ‘failed retiree’), it hasn’t stopped him investing and his belief in Ireland’s future has seen him buy the CHQ, increasing its footfall and business since 2012 as well as investing in the Epic Ireland museum telling the story of Irish emigrants around the world.

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